Well, that one is mostly just bare-bones tropes, their relation to the real world, and they have constant mentions towards the metagame, so it doesn't really apply for us other than to explain to newbies which pokemon we're talking about. I've been adding to it myself for a while now, so I know it isn't nearly to the scope that we're going for with the PEFE.

Calling Buffalon. How many Pulp Fiction references can we get into a article?

Psyduck Line

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

Psyduck [054]

A yellow biped, with webbed feet, a beak and arms with three short claws. On its head are three tufts of hair.

Golduck [055]

A blue biped, with clawed, webbed feet and hands. It has a red sphere and four spike of hair on its head.

Notable Biology

What must be first considered is that the Psyduck line is not closely related to other flying types, despite appearances to contrary. They have more in common with Normal types, including short fur that protects against cold water. The beak is from some instance of convergent evolution – a mutant Psyduck ancestor had a beak and it gave him the edge over those that didn’t.

Despite not being labelled as such, they also have some psychic abilities. In Psyduck, whose brain is not big enough to keep the power in check, this results in headaches and a loss of some non-essential brain functions, leading to a vacant stare and definite retardation. They may also discharge that energy when the pain gets too bad (See Hazards below).

Golduck, however, can deal with the mental strain psychic power requires. This is helped, in part, by a focus, much like Kadabra’s or Alakazam’s spoons. Except instead of an external focus, the focus here is the red ‘third eye’, made out of keratin. The red is actually blood – the ‘eye’ also functions as a small radiator, which even glows when psychic powers are being used. Once upon a time, the eye was thought to be some sort of liquid vital to the Golduck’s function, kept as a sphere by psychic energy. This was compounded by the fact that the only time they saw a Golduck without the ‘eye’ was dead Golduck. This was merely because, before anaesthetic, the only way to get the eye was to kill it or use trauma to get it into unconsciousness that could result in the death of it anyway. Hunters used to, and still do in some areas, sell Golduck eyes as psychic lenses (but they are vastly inferior to Kadabra or Alakazam spoons), or grounded up into various folk cures for headaches (which is no different to a placebo).

One other fact about Golduck is that they are very strong swimmers, possibly the best among Pokémon.

Habitat

Psyduck and Golduck are most commonly seen in fresh-water lakes and rivers, although some have adapted to making nests along coastlines. Several groups of families can live along the banks of a lake or coast, as long as food is plentiful.

Diet

Psyduck are omnivorous, eating whatever they can catch or forage for, though favourites are other water Pokémon, mostly for their fat and starchy plant material.

Trainers are suggested to give their Psyduck plenty of carbohydrates, psychic power requires a lot of energy.

Hazards

Temperamentally, both are quite docile. Psyduck are nice but a bit dim, and Golduck, while having the air of superiority about them, are fine just to leave humans alone. To those whose mothers said that playing by a river would mean a Golduck would leap up and drag you down shouldn’t worry – humans are on the whole too big for them to eat, even children. There has never been an actual recorded incident of a Golduck intentionally drowning a child beyond hearsay. And bowing to them, so their ‘eye’ falls out and it dies when they reciprocate the bow, will only get confused looks from the Golduck, which in all likelihood will wander away.

However, it is a good idea to keep something tin near a domesticated Psyduck. In the wild, most deaths are caused by an inopportune discharge of psychic energy, alerting nearby predators to its presence. In domestication, psychic discharges can cause havoc. The best way to stop this is to ‘ground’ that psychic energy, and tin is the best metal for that (yes, tin foil hats really will stop government Alakazam reading your thoughts – if it was actually tin foil and not aluminium foil, which is more common nowadays). In the absence of wanting to keep a tin object around, use a Bug, Dark or Ghost Pokémon, all of which are effective absorbers of psychic energy, especially the relatively weak stuff given off by a Psyduck’s psychic discharge.

Another suggestion is to keep Psyduck’s and Golduck’s claws trimmed – they can be quite sharp and they aren’t as careful around humans as they would be around their own species.

Courting and Childrearing

A male Golduck will attempt to attract a female with elaborate psychic displays – the more elaborate the better – once per year during the mating season. Only very rarely will these become actual fights between two male Golduck, usually involving claws and beaks instead of any psychic abilities.

The male will gather food for the female while she is tending the eggs (there can be any between one and three), but will leave the family to fend for themselves once all the Psyduck have hatched, after a month long gestation. The mother then takes care of the children, who may be helped by any Golduck that didn’t mate that year.

Social Structure

Where humans are social creatures that have independent streaks, Golduck are solitary creatures that have no trouble living in large groups. They function perfectly well even if they very rarely, if ever, see another Golduck, but function equally as well sharing a lake or a stretch of coast with dozens of other Golduck.

Psyduck, on the other hand, require near constant supervision and a group setting due to their reduced mental capabilities.

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

Palkia [483]

Physical Descriptions

Palkia looks dinosaur-like, similar to theropods, bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs. Palkia’s body is mainly a shade of light, desaturated pink, though some have erroneously claimed it is of a purple shade. It is situated with stripes and markings of a more saturated pink, as well as a gray-colored, blubbery underarm and waist. Palkia is also situated with large wings that begin at the base of the shoulder blades which have three large strips that condense of expand depending on the height and distance of the flight. When in disuse, they are at their smallest, and appear to be more like decorations than functional wings. Palkia’s arms have somewhat gauntlet-like extended formations and a pink band of coloration at the wrist. Palkia has a long neck that thins out near the chin, a pointed white crest on the top of its head that extends to its wings, two strong horn-like tusks approximately at its cheekbones, and a powerful tail.

The creature’s shoulders are its most noticeable feature, very large and bulky with more weight placed on them than the rest of the upper torso, suggesting that the flesh beneath it is quite vulnerable and/or positioned over vital organs; embedded in the large round shoulders are two inexplicably large, round jewels, similar in composition to the smoothest pearl, and has been observed to pulse faintly with an inner radiance, leading some to believe that the gem functions as Palkia’s “lungs” in correlation with the myth it is most associated with. Finally, the beast’s incredibly durable talons are composed of an odd, flexible ivory of some sort, though it has not been studied thoroughly enough for an accurate speculation on what it is composed of.

It is uncertain how many Palkia exist in the wild, but given the scarcity of its appearances, leading academic theory holds that the creature is unique. Whether it has a sex has yet to be determined, though it does in fact have a loud, booming, telepathic voice akin to someone reading a line of text written in Caps Lock. The voice in question had a deep, yet unmistakably feminine sound, and a tone of voice that demanded respect and obedience. 1

Original Research, obtained through an encounter with Palkia at Spear Pillar

Adding to it, the various religious faiths and denominations of the Sinnoh Region consider Palkia to be the feminine counterpart to Dialga, the anima to its animus; as such, the creature has been commonly accepted to be female, or at the very least behaves with femininity, and will be referred to with feminine pronouns throughout the rest of this article.

Lore and History

In Sinnoh myth and legend, Palkia is worshipped as a deity and is known by many titles and appellations, including but not limited to the Epoch, the Spatiosaur, Mother Earth, Queen Regnant of the Eyes, Maîtresse sur les routes 2

‘Mistress over Roads’

, and Birth. She plays an important role in the creation cycle as described in Sinn Legends; She, along with Dialga, was formed at the Beginning when the Alpha, Arceus, fashioned the primordial chaos of the Nothingness into the foundations of the universe. The Original One then did give birth to two beings, these being Palkia, Lady of Space, Dialga, Lord of Time, and the three sprites, Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf, representing emotion and life. As Palkia came into being and her pearl lungs first drew breath, so too did space first take shape; and together with Her Brother’s power over Time, They wrought matter and created the laws of the universe, fashioning the planets and plotting the ordered dance of worlds and galaxies. 3

Later research has discovered that Giratina was born alongside Dialga and Palkia, though its role in the creation of all things is as of yet unknown. For more information on Giratina, see the Giratina Article.

Their labors thus complete, the three sprites having wrought life whilst they wrought the world, Palkia and Dialga retreated to the summit of Mount Coronet, the highest peak in Sinnoh, and left Regigigas to craft the landscape for humans and Pokémon to live on in peace and harmony. In their gratitude, the inhabitants of the Sinnoh region would build a shrine dedicated to the two gods atop Mount Coronet, and in the ensuing years it would come to be known as Spear Pillar, the most holy site on the entire landmass, and regular offerings would be made to appease the Lady of Space and the Lord of Time.

In addition to being the goddess and personification of Space, Palkia is also considered the goddess of sight and reality. All things seen and all things to be seen have in fact been seen and confirmed by Palkia herself. This paved the way for humans and Pokémon to imitate what they saw on canvas with paints, chalk, and pencils. However, as the years drew on, Palkia became upset with how they did not see the world in three dimensions, as she did, and as time went on distance and depth remained undiscovered by philosophers and artists alike. Eventually, She had had enough, and legend states that she once came to a group of philosophers to merely talk.

Thus, Palkia taught humankind of all things related to space. She had described to artists how depth worked by making sculptures, and explained to mathematicians how the three dimensions of space played out by teaching them of the distinction between lines, curves, and distance. As She taught them, the Humans wished to know more and more of how space worked, and so She continued to teach them of matter and energy, and enhanced their telescopes to the point where they first became microscopes, leading to the discovery of cells. Finally, she taught them of the Apricorn, and how it could be so small in outward appearance yet hold enough space within it for any creature of any size to inhabit. The Legend ends with Palkia leaving the philosophers to their spoils, and thus, the first Pokéball was created.

Of note is that the myth in question does not originate from Sinnoh, but rather Johto. The initial description of the myth simply used “A great Pokemon” to describe Palkia, but as details were prodded and books on the subject were studied, it can be said with the utmost certainty that the myth does in fact reference Palkia. 4

For further reading, see; “The Apricorns” by Julius Farfel, “The Pokemon of the Arts: A Myth of Johto” by J.F. Kindling, “The Pokemon Goddesses: A Collection of Myths and Legends from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh” by Yoshiko Abe, and “La Maîtresse de la Saint-Arts” by Pierre Sursoix.

Known Sightings

Sightings of Palkia have been incredibly rare over the years, with the creature typically appearing in random spots dotted around Sinnoh and Johto without any set schedule; she has appeared most often only when called upon. Due to the rarity of its appearances, Palkia had begun to fade from the memories of the human race, though she has managed to avoid falling into obscurity due to her unorthodox appearances all across the world. Those who know of Palkia only know of her due to her appearance on news broadcasts.

Within the past 50 years, the first sighting of Palkia was on June 9th, approximately 25 years ago, when a group of Hippies had gone to camp out at the Spear Pillar in an attempt to ‘Be one with the World’5

The eye-witness reports by the group were later filed in. According to them, “An enormous pearl appeared before us, then it grew wings and a tail… eventually it turned into Palkia, and She… teleported us… next thing we knew, we were on the roof of some building fifty stories up surrounded by people and Pokémon we had never seen before!” While the credibility of known drug-users is slim, one cannot deny that they were, in fact, teleported away from their current camp and to the other side of the planet.

Palkia and Her brother Dialga were recently witnessed during the climax of the Team Galactic incident, in which the cult’s megalomaniacal leader and founder Cyrus attempted to enslave the two Pokémon in order to harness their phenomenal cosmic powers and create a new universe in his own twisted image. His efforts were thwarted, thankfully, by the intervention of the Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion Cynthia and a young prodigy of a Pokémon Trainer, who has requested that their identity remain classified, as well as the unexpected appearance of the strange entity known as Giratina6

For more information on Giratina the First, see the Giratina Entry

; the chain was severed, Palkia and Dialga were successfully calmed from their fury at being used so, and it is believed that Cyrus was pulled into the Distortion World, from which he could not leave and where he presumably died.

Approximately 3 years ago, a Police Notice written by the Police Chief of Vermillion City in Kanto states: “A wobbling, presumably intoxicated Pokémon later identified as the Legendary Pokémon Palkia was sighted today after breaking into a family home and accusing the occupants of distorting space without its permission, then fleeing in ‘A ball of WTF’, as the occupants say.” As of this writing, no further information has been gathered on this particular sighting, and no further mention of the incident has taken place.

The most recent sighting of Palkia was at the Spear Pillar, summoned by Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia in order to assist her and a group of researchers in confronting Cinnabar Anomaly1

Original Research, obtained through an encounter with Palkia at Spear Pillar

.

Diet (if any)

Given the rarity of its appearances, it should come as no surprise that Palkia has never been observed while eating. Although its theropod form might lead one to believe that Palkia is an exclusively carnivorous Pokémon, Palkia has been appeased with a Chili Dog by Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, an article of food made with grains, meat, and seeds, suggesting that Palkia is omnivorous. While Palkia has not been observed actually consuming the Chili Dog, it accepted the offer and did not request for anything else 1

Original Research, obtained through an encounter with Palkia at Spear Pillar

.

Abilities

Among its many and varied abilities, Palkia’s most spectacular power is its mastery over the form of space. During its brief appearances, the Epoch has been observed to warp one’s perception of reality; for example, when the Hippies were teleported to Unova, what they claimed to have seen was much different from what other observers witnessed. Similarly, when one member of a scientific expedition opted to approach Palkia alongside another researcher in order to record the appearance of both Dialga and Palkia’s dimensions first-hand, the woman intending to study it was not teleported away like the Hippies were, but was instead sent to a television screen in the lab.

The woman has remained in that single television screen for quite some time, and even when the screen is turned off or the channel changed, she is still visible and able to interact with the characters on-screen. The actions of this woman are not broadcasted anywhere else in the world, and the characters from within each channel seem to recognize and react to the woman each time she appears, leading the scientists to theorize that Palkia has indeed created a pocket dimension within that specific television screen. Also of note, the woman within the television screen has not visibly aged since she was placed into it, though her voice has cracked and she has become weaker as time went on.

Hazards

As one can discern from the above paragraphs, attempting to battle with Palkia would be most unwise; even if the creature did not simply use its powers to strand one in another place, attempting to subdue it would in all likelihood be out-and-out impossible, as there has yet to be any official typing assigned to it and thus, no clearly defined weakness. While the most common typing given to Palkia is Water/Dragon, likely due to the source of the common pearl being sea mollusks, Palkia has not been observed to do anything even remotely related to water. Therefore, your best bet is to grab the most powerful Dragon Type you can find and cross your fingers.

During the climax of the Team Galactic Crisis, Palkia was observed to demonstrate a wide array of attacks utilizing both its deadly claws and the manipulation of various forms of energy; for example, it was able to slash its claws through even the densest of substance, smash Pokémon with its mighty tail, lift rocks and sculptures and various other items up with its brute strength and toss it farther than it was tall, cause rifts in the geometries of distance to teleport, and project beams of focused light from its eyes or toss orbs of pure spatial energy at an opponent.

It’s most dangerous ability by far, however, is the devastating attack which more poetic members of the scientific community have dubbed the Spatial Rend. During this attack, the Epoch opens its mouth and uses its spatial powers to collect a large quantity of neutrons and Aura of neutral polarity from the surrounding environment, wrapping it around one of its hands like a glove; as the glove grows in power and focuses on Palkia’s fist, the pearls embedded into its shoulders will glow a brilliant, blinding shade of bright pink. Once the creature has collected enough neutrons, it releases them in an impossibly hard punch that has been observed to vitrify any inorganic substance it makes contact with; the object is then seen to change into several different objects, one recording of this showing a Galactic Grunt to become a hunk of cheese, a bowl of petunias, Rayquaza, a bucket of water, a Sharpedo, an electrical outlet, and finally an Impossible Geometric Shape◊, before reverting back into a Grunt.

The scientific community believes these anomalies to be a result of the Spatial Rend being so great an exertion of Palkia’s power that it affects several different points in the fabric of space; those struck by the blast may simply be grievously injured, or they may find themselves teleported and replacing several points of the planet, or even beyond the planet. As the Spatial Rend has only been observed during this one encounter, it cannot be said what other effects exposure to such an attack may have in the short or long term. Unlike Dialga's Roar of Time, this attack does not require a cool-down period to recharge, meaning that this attack can be used en masse as much as Palkia wants.

Haha. What's with the little glowy ball it travels in, anyway? Why not just instantaneously teleport from one point to another? Or distort space so that its current location and its destination are adjacent?

Also, Palkia's Onslaught! (The above link) is an awesome song. For some reason, it sounds like something out of any sort of Batman movie/show. As such, I have been referring to Palkia as Batman for a couple of years.

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